SPANAWAY, Wash. - A 19-year-old man in a gorilla suit who is accused of trying to abduct a 5-year-old boy in Spanaway turned himself in to police Friday morning. Police had earlier caught him but let him go.

The attempted abduction happened Aug. 2 inside the B & I Marketplace. Store surveillance video shows the man clearly coming up behind the boy and running off with him with his parents in hot pursuit.

"I didn't realize what happened until I heard my son screaming in terror. That's the moment I knew it was him," said the boy's father, Anthony Santiago.

The boy's abductor didn't make it very far with the boy, and he was held until police could arrive. Police questioned the suspect after the incident, but after he told them it was a joke, they let him go.

They failed to get proper identification from him, and the suspect had given them a false name.

KING

Crimestoppers released this picture of the suspect.

The family apparently also believed it was a joke and accepted an apology from the suspect, said Dave Guttu of the Lakewood Police Department.

But the next day the boy's mother, April Santiago, changed her mind and called police back, saying she wanted the suspect arrested. Police started searching for the suspect after the family threatened legal action.

Police said the suspect still maintains the attempted abduction was a joke and he meant no harm.

"He saw his picture on Crimestoppers and said they were coming in. He's given a statement, he still indicated it was still a joke, he meant no harm," Guttu said.

The suspect has been charged with unlawful imprisonment.

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